O ADAM by W. W. Phelps

I’m something of a collector of works about Adam and Eve by Mormons. I just stumbled across this in the Times and Seasons and thought I would share. I couldn’t find a scan and so my attempts to beautify what I found is quite personal rather than historically accurate.

Eve:O Adam, will you come with me?
For paradise is blooming now;
For God has said that we are free
Through endless realms the angels fly,
To all of Eden’s joys and powers,
To bring forth joys for you and I,
To pluck and eat her fruits and flowers,
O have you hid yourself from me,
So we may cull the garden through
For tasting that forbidden tree.
For flowers for me and fruit for you.

Adam:O yes, the tree of knowledge there,

Adam:All save the tree of knowledge there,
And O! my fairest of the fair.
You may, my fairest of the fair.

Eve:O Adam, Adam—must we go?

Eve:O Adam, now ’tis you and I;
Where “thorns and thistles” ever grow—
For Satan said we should not die;
Where joys celestial never come,
God never made a woman mute,
Where sorrow will despoil our home—
And I have ate forbidden fruit—
Or can we live and be forgiven,
So now come eat with Eve your bride,
And gain our place once more in heaven?
And feast your passions and your pride.

Adam:Yes, for the tree of life is there,

Adam:Yes, on the tree of knowledge there,
So come, my fairest of the fair.
I will, my fairest of the fair.

EDIT . . . :

Sadly, as expected, when viewed in the original publication, the poem is much more conventional. It does, however, scan much better. Thanks to Sarah Reed for uncovering a scan.

Eve—
O Adam, will you come with me?
For God has said that we are free
To all of Eden’s joys and powers,
To pluck and eat her fruits and flowers,
So we may cull the garden through
For tasting that forbidden tree.
For flowers for me and fruit for you.

Adam—
All save the tree of knowledge there,
You may, my fairest of the fair.

Eve—
O Adam, now ’tis you and I;
For Satan said we should not die;
God never made a woman mute,
And I have eat forbidden fruit—
So now come eat with Eve your bride,
And feast your passions and your pride.

Adam—
All save the tree of knowledge there,
I will, my fairest of the fair.

God—
O Adam, Adam—where are thou?
For paradise is blooming now;
Through endless realms the angels fly,
To bring forth joys for you and I;
O have you hid yourself from me,
For tasting that forbidden tree.

Adam—
O yes, the tree of knowledge there,
And O! my fairest of the fair.

Eve—
O Adam, Adam,—must we go
Where “thorns and thistles” ever grow—
Where joys celestial never come,
Where sorrow will despoil our home—
Or can we live and be forgiven,
And gain our place once more in heaven?

Adam—
Yes, for the tree of life is there,
I will, my fairest of the fair.

Chorus—
And multiply with joy and mirth,
And beautify our mother earth.

I wanted to find a scan because there are certainly some oddities as it currently stands. But best I can tell, yes, characters sometimes speak twice in a row. It’s an interesting effect but I’m hesitant to really analyze it until I know for sure this is as Phelps’s intended.